Texas Scorecard By Charles Blain | November 14, 2024
The Astrodome Conservancy says the current plan will be revenue-generating and largely privately funded.The Astrodome Conservancy, a non-profit organization not formally affiliated with the Astrodome, rolled out a new plan this week to revitalize the building which has sat empty since housing Hurricane Katrina evacuees in 2005.
The Conservancy’s $1 billion moonshot plan, developed by architectural firm Gensler, includes a year-round retail village, an expo center, restaurants, and more.
This proposal is just the latest in a slate of proposals to breathe new life into the building. Harris County proposed a more than $200 million bond in 2013 to redevelop it, but it failed; in 2015, then-Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and others traveled to Germany to tour an indoor park as inspiration for the facility; in 2018, the county approved $105 million to renovate the building and build a garage and event space, but that was later put on hold; in 2021, a survey was conducted asking residents’ input on the future of the dome; and in 2023, an “entertainment village” was pitched.
The Conservancy says the current plan is different, because it will be revenue-generating and largely privately funded.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/local/astrodomes-new-life-1-billion-revitalization-plan-faces-opposition/
